Our Vets
A Salute to the Courage and Wisdom of Our Veterans.
For this holiday weekend, I thought I’d share a few stories from some of the vets that have been on the podcast. Each has a life experience with wisdom and insight that will touch and inspire you. They are stories from World War II, Vietnam, Iraq and more, about bravery, courage, perseverance, and history. And later this week, I’ll be publishing my conversation with pilot Jim Tritten, who has turned his war experiences back into the veteran’s community to help others.
Happy Memorial Day with deep thanks to those who served.
Kamin Samuel: Piloting One’s Life
“It’s ok for our lives to be off course.” -Kamin Samuel
Kamin Samuel was the first African American woman to fly helicopters in the Navy. She flew a CH-46 Sea Knight Helicopter, went on numerous deployments and worked as a flight instructor at NAS North Island.
Kamin is simply an amazing person and so is her story:
Her book, Increase Your Abundance Starting Today is on Amazon. More information on Kamin here.
Kim “KC” Campbell And The Wingman Culture
“All those hard things made me better at doing hard things.”
-“KC” Campbell, Author of Flying In The Face of Fear
What does “KC” stand for?
Killer Chick.
Kim “KC” Campbell served in the Air Force for 24 years as a fighter pilot and senior military leader. She has flown 1,800 hours in the A-10 Warthog, including more than 100 combat missions protecting troops on the ground in both Iraq and Afghanistan where she was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for Heroism. You can learn more about KC here.
John Suzuki: American Grit
“If this is for our protection, why are the guns pointed at us? -John Suzuki
John Suzuki is a Japanese American who stumbled upon the story of Japanese internment camps during World War II. It was a story that led him to write a book.
The book, American Grit, is a story of our past and a warning for our future. I include John in this Memorial Day post because this is a story about the impact of war on culturally, socially and psychologically. It’s a story of strength, patriotism and the need to right certain wrongs.
More information on John’s story here.
Arnold Hughbrook Sampson, Jr.: Operation Dustoff
“It’s hard to go into a war zone and not come away changed by the experience.”
-Arnold Hughbrook Sampson, Jr.
Arnold is a highly decorated Army huey pilot. His book, “Dustoff: More Than Met The Eye” is a story of how Vietnam has impacted his life. This is an emotional retrospective of one’s man’s war experience in Operation Dustoff, the bravery that went with it, and the fear, PTSD and the memories that remain.
More information on Arnold here.
Martha McSally: Doing Things Afraid
“Courage is not the absence of fear. It’s choosing to do things afraid. It’s a choice.”-Martha McSally
One of Martha’s favorite sayings is “do things afraid”. And her book, Dare to Fly, opens up with the perfect example as she climbs into the seat of an A-10 attack plane. It is a single seat plane and it was her first flight. There were no simulators and no one could teach her how to fly it. She simply had to do it.
Martha McSally is a remarkable woman. Her grit, perseverance, and sense of fair play has allowed her to rise to the rank of Colonel in the US Air Force and become the first woman to fly in combat. “Courage is a muscle,” she says. “The more you use it the stronger it gets.”
Here is part one of our conversation. The second part can be found here.